This only promises to get worse now that rival browsers have a fair shot.

Fortunately, it also promises to goad Microsoft into competing and innovating more vigorously in the browser market, something that it has increasingly done of late thanks to Firefox nipping at its heels. This will be good for Microsoft, but it also promises to be good for Mozilla, Google, and Apple, as they, too, will be spurred to further improve their browsers.

The biggest winner of all? Consumers.

I suspect that in the short term Firefox will benefit most, as it has the biggest brand loyalty. Google Chrome has been giving Firefox serious competition, but it's still mostly the Silicon Valley and general technology crowd that is switching to Chrome. The general public hasn't heard of Chrome, but may actually have heard about Firefox.

Whatever the outcome, the browser market is open again, and that's good for everyone: competitors and consumers alike.